The Mona Lisa Effect is the concept that the eyes in an image are following you. It was named for Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait from the Renaissance, but it may need a new moniker now.

Researchers at Bielefeld University in Germany took a closer look at the Mona Lisa Effect to see if Mona Lisa's eyes actually seem to track viewers moving in front of the painting housed at the Louvre in Paris.

The researchers says the effect kicks in when the subject of a photograph or painting looks ahead toward the viewer. The team displayed part of the Mona Lisa's face on a computer screen and used test subjects to measure the painting's perceived gaze.

They found that participants perceived the Mona Lisa's gaze to be off to the right-hand side.

The scientists laid out their results in no uncertain terms: "We conclude from the measurements that the lack of evidence is due to the claim being objectively false: Mona Lisa does not gaze at the viewer."

The Mona Lisa Effect has a notable role in modern technology. Study co-author Sebastian Loth researches communication with avatars. "When communicating with an avatar, for example in a virtual environment, gaze improves our understanding of the avatar," Loth says. He says the avatar can use its gaze to point at objects or express attention.

The Mona Lisa is a spectacular painting, but now we know she'd make for a lousy avatar.